Author: rebeccajowers

False Friends (26): adjudicar; adjudicate

rebeccajowers False Friends

Oh, no! False Friends

adjudicar ; adjudicate / adjudicación ; adjudication

These pairs are clearly false cognates. In Spanish adjudicar generally has the meaning of “to award,” “to allocate” or “to allot.” Thus, for example, adjudicar un contrato is “to award a contract,” (not “adjudicate a contract”), while in the context of auctions (subastas) adjudicado al mejor postor may often be rendered simply as “sold to the highest bidder.”

In contrast, in English “to adjudicate” means “to rule upon or settle judicially; to adjudge,” while “adjudication” is “the legal process of resolving a dispute; the process of judicially deciding a case.”* Thus, “to adjudicate” is juzgar, fallar or resolver judicialmente, referring to the final ruling of a court or quasi-judicial body, a sense that adjudicar does not have in Spanish. In that regard, when referring to a judicial decision “adjudication” cannot be translated as adjudicación. “He was adjudicated guilty” means le declararon culpable (or) fue declarado culpable (being synonymous with “convicted” or “found guilty”). “Adjudication on the merits” refers to a court’s resolución sobre el fondo and “to adjudicate disputes” is resolver conflictos (en sede judicial). Likewise, in the context of court proceedings or hearings before quasi-judicial boards or tribunals, “adjudication of claims” might be translated as resolución de pretensiones, resolución de reclamaciones or, perhaps, resolución de demandas, depending on the context. As additional examples, “adjudication of incompetence” refers to a declaración judicial de incapacidad, and a person “adjudicated incompetent” has been judicialmente incapacitada. In summary, “adjudicate (or) adjudication” could not be appropriately rendered as adjudicar (or) adjudicación in any of these expressions.

The same may be said of the verb “to adjudge,” which likewise means “to award, grant or impose judicially.” Thus the expression “Ordered and adjudged” often appearing at the end of a court ruling does not mean Ordenado y adjudicado, as the expression has sometimes been rendered literally, but rather precedes a court’s disposal of a matter in dispute, denoting its “adjudication” (fallo). So, “It is therefore ordered and adjudged…” might actually be rendered as “Se ordena y falla…”.

*Black’s Law Dictionary, 8th ed.

20 Answers (2): Terminology of Criminal Law and Criminal Procedure

rebeccajowers Legal English for Spanish-speakers

20 Questions...(2)

Here are the answers to the 20 Questions on the Terminology of Criminal Law and Criminal Procedure published in a previous blog post:

1) A public official who conducts criminal prosecutions on behalf of his jurisdiction: PROSECUTOR

2) An agreement between two or more persons to engage in a criminal act: CONSPIRACY

3) At common law, the offense of breaking and entering a building with the intent to commit a felony: BURGLARY

4) The judgment in a criminal case imposing a punishment of imprisonment, probation, fine, forfeiture or some other penalty: SENTENCE

5) A rule that prohibits a second trial or punishment for the same offense: DOUBLE JEOPARDY

6) The fraudulent conversion of property with which a person has been entrusted: EMBEZZLEMENT

7) The killing of a human being without premeditation or malice and without legal excuse or justification: MANSLAUGHTER

8) The defense that the accused was elsewhere at the time the crime was committed: ALIBI

9) The act of bringing an accused before a court to answer a criminal charge and to enter a plea of guilty or not guilty: ARRAIGNMENT

10) The criminal offense of obtaining money or other things of value by duress, force, threat of force, fear, or under color of office: EXTORTION

11) The intentional and premeditated killing of a human being: (FIRST-DEGREE) MURDER

12) A sentence that allows a person convicted of a crime to continue to live and work in the community under the supervision of the court: PROBATION

13) The release of a person from incarceration after serving a portion of his/her sentence if certain conditions are met: PAROLE

14) The crime of giving something of value with the intention of influencing the action of a public official, witness, juror, etc: BRIBERY

15) Detention of a person on a criminal charge: ARREST

16) The degree of proof required to convict a person of a crime: BEYOND A REASONABLE DOUBT

17) The false making, material alteration, or uttering of any writing with the intent to defraud: FORGERY

18) The crime of taking personal property, without consent, with the intent to deprive the owner of it permanently: THEFT

19) A crime not amounting to a felony: MISDEMEANOR

20) The felonious taking of money or something of value from a person against his will, by force or by putting him in fear: ROBBERY

 

20 Questions (2): Terminology of Criminal Law and Criminal Procedure

rebeccajowers Legal English for Spanish-speakers

20 Questions...(1)

This is an exercise that I use with my students of Legal English at the Universidad Carlos III in Madrid. After finishing each unit, we often review dictionary definitions of the legal terms and concepts that we’ve discussed in class to make sure they’re clear. Several students who follow this blog suggested that I might make exercises of this nature available here in the event that they may prove useful to other readers.

This entry concerns some (only a few of the many!) terms and concepts of Criminal Law (Derecho penal) and Criminal Procedure (Derecho Procesal Penal).

Please provide a term for the following definitions (Answers will be published soon in another blog post):

1) A public official who conducts criminal prosecutions on behalf of his jurisdiction:

2) An agreement between two or more persons to engage in a criminal act:

3) At common law, the offense of breaking and entering a building with the intent to commit a felony:

4) The judgment in a criminal case imposing a punishment of imprisonment, probation, fine, forfeiture or some other penalty:

5) A rule that prohibits a second trial or punishment for the same offense:

6) The fraudulent conversion of property with which a person has been entrusted:

7) The killing of a human being without premeditation or malice and without legal excuse or justification:

8) The defense that the accused was elsewhere at the time the crime was committed:

9) The act of bringing an accused before a court to answer a criminal charge and to enter a plea of guilty or not guilty:

10) The criminal offense of obtaining money or other things of value by duress, force, threat of force, fear, or under color of office:

11) The intentional and premeditated killing of a human being:

12) A sentence that allows a person convicted of a crime to continue to live and work in the community under the supervision of the court:

13) The release of a person from incarceration after serving a portion of his sentence if certain conditions are met:

14) The crime of giving something of value with the intention of influencing the action of a public official, witness, juror, etc:

15) Detention of a person on a criminal charge:

16) The degree of proof required to convict a person of a crime:

17) The false making, material alteration, or uttering of any writing with the intent to defraud:

18) The crime of taking personal property, without consent, with the intent to deprive the owner of it permanently:

19) A crime not amounting to a felony:

20) The felonious taking of money or something of value from a person against hiS will, by force or by putting him in fear:

False Friends (25): redactar; redact

rebeccajowers False Friends

Oh, no! False Friends

redacción-redaction; redactar-redact

 In legal contexts in Spanish redacción is most often used in the sense of “drafting” or “drawing up” a document, such as a contract (redacción del contrato; redactar un contrato). But their English language look-alikes “redaction” and “to redact” often have very different meanings. Indeed, although “redaction” has the general meaning of “careful editing”, in many jurisdictions the term refers to editing out, removing or concealing certain sensitive information from documents filed in court and from judicial opinions, such as personal identification (social security or bank account numbers) or the names of victims, minors, etc. before they are made public. Thus in legal contexts it’s probably advisable to reserve “redaction” for this specific meaning, while translating redacción (de documentos, contratos, etc.) as “drafting” or “drawing up.” (In Spanish courts, redacting personal information from judicial decisions is called anonimización.)*

Below is an example of a redacted court document. Most of the essential information has literally been blacked out, making it fairly incomprehensible. An Internet search reveals many articles claiming that extensive redaction is sometimes considered an abusive measure used by the courts or by governmental agencies to conceal information from the public. Also of interest are the many motions to unseal excessively redacted information from judicial records,**as well as rules of court governing the sealing and redacting of court documents.*** Links to an example of  both are provided here:

*http://mentora.es/el-tribunal-constitucional-ampara-la-anonimizacion-en-resoluciones-judiciales/

**https://www.ftc.gov/sites/default/files/documents/cases/2012/01/120109gracomotion.pdf

***https://www.leg.state.nv.us/CourtRules/SCR_RGSRCR.html

https://i0.wp.com/www.timbowerrodriguez.com/wp-content/uploads/photo-gallery/5k-motion-redacted.jpeg

Capsule Vocabularies: 30 EN-ES Competition Law Terms

rebeccajowers Capsule vocabularies
  • wood-cube-abc-cube-letters-488981-e1536850974730
  • (Basic terms and concepts:)
  • Competition Law (EU); Antitrust Law (US)→Derecho de la Competencia; Derecho de la Libre Competencia
  • defense of competition→defensa de la competencia
  • competition policy→política de la competencia
  • competition rules→normas de competencia
  • anticompetitive practices→prácticas anticompetitivas
  • conduct in restraint of trade→prácticas restrictivas de la competencia
  • concerted practices→prácticas concertadas
  • acts of collusion→prácticas colusorias; conducta colusoria
  • distortion of competition→falseamiento de la libre competencia
  • abuse of dominant position→abuso de posición dominante
  • cartels→cárteles
  • foreclosure of competition→cierre del mercado a competidores potenciales
  • barriers to entry→barreras a la entrada
  • barriers to mobility; mobility barriers→barreras a la movilidad
  • horizontal agreements→acuerdos horizontales
  • vertical agreements→acuerdos verticales
  • production or delivery quota agreements→acuerdos sobre cuotas de producción o entrega
  • market-sharing agreements→acuerdos de reparto de mercado
  • price-fixing agreements→acuerdos de fijación de precios
  • exclusive collective markets→mercados colectivos exclusivos
  • collective boycotting→boicoteo colectivo
  • predatory pricing→imposición de precios predatorios
  • dumping→venta a precios inferiores al coste de producción
  • preemption of production/supply sources; preemption of essential facilities→acaparamiento de fuentes de producción/de aprovisionamiento
  • tied sales→ventas vinculadas
  • full-line forcing→imposición de la obligación de comprar una gama completa de productos
  • resale price maintenance→imposición de precios de reventa
  • refusal to deal/sell→negativa de suministro
  • bid-rigging (in public tenders)→pujas amañadas (en concursos públicos)
  • parallel imports, gray-market imports→importaciones paralelas

Source: Rebecca Jowers. Léxico temático de terminología jurídica español-inglés. Valencia: Tirant lo Blanch, 2015, pp. 935-938.

 

Legal Meanings of “rise”

rebeccajowers Common words with uncommon legal meanings

legal words

The everyday word “rise” is used in at least two different contexts in US courtroom procedure. First, when a judge enters the courtroom, the bailiff or other court official shouts out, “All rise!” to call the court to order and to signal that those present in the courtroom should stand until the judge takes his seat. Standard formulae for commencing court sessions vary from jurisdiction to jurisdiction, but these three are typical:

“Oyez, oyez, oyez.* The Third Circuit Court of the State of New York is now in session, Judge Jones presiding. All rise!”

“All Rise! Oyez! Oyez! Oyez! All persons having any business with the Honorable Court of Appeals of Maryland draw near and give your attention. The court is now in session. God save the State and this Honorable Court,” or

“All rise! Hear ye, hear ye, hear ye! The Supreme Court of the Great State of Florida is now in session. All who have cause to plea, draw near, give attention and you shall be heard. God save these United States, the Great State of Florida and this Honorable Court.”

In a second opposite meaning, “rise” is sometimes used in the sense of adjourning a court session (levantar la sesión): “The Court rose at 2:00 pm” (Se levantó la sesión a las 14.00 horas). In this context “rise” can also refer to the final adjournment at the end of a court term (fin del año judicial), prior to summer recess (vacaciones judiciales): “Justice Stevens announced he would be retiring from the US Supreme Court effective one day after the court rises for summer recess.” “Rise” is likewise used with respect to the adjournment of parliamentary sessions: “It is expected that the 3rd reading on this Bill will occur very soon, and the House of Commons will vote on it before they rise for summer recess” (or) “The Bill was introduced in the House of Commons on the penultimate sitting day before the House of Commons rose for summer recess.”

________________________

* As Bryan Garner notes in his Dictionary of Legal Usage (Oxford, 2011, p. 650), “oyez, oyez, oyez” is the cry heard in court to call a courtroom to order when a session begins (“oyez” being the Law French equivalent of “here ye” in the Middle Ages). Quoting Clarence Darrow: “When court opens, the bailiff intones some voodoo singsong words in an ominous voice that carries fear and respect at the opening of the rite.” It is pronounced “oh-yes” or sometimes “oh-yay.”

They may not mean what you think! (Legal meanings of “molest” and “molestation”)

rebeccajowers Legal English in the US and the UK
Photo by Tookapic on Pexels.com
Photo by Alexander Krivitskiy on Pexels.com

In everyday Spanish usage, molestar means “to bother,” “to disturb,” “to cause annoyance” or “to be a nuisance.” Thus me molesta cuando hablas con la boca llena simply means “it bothers me when you talk with your mouth full.” That’s why the “Do not disturb” signs in hotels in Spain say No molestar.

But “molest” and “molestation” have specific legal meanings that translators and legal professionals who use English can’t afford to ignore. Moreover, the terms denote something radically different in British and American legal usage, with a potential for prompting serious translation mistakes.

In legal contexts, British usage of “molest” and “molestation” is close to the Spanish meaning. For example, in cases of domestic abuse, under the Family Law Act 1996 in force in England and Wales, a judge may issue a specific type of injunction known as a “non-molestation order” to a spouse or partner (the “respondent”), prohibiting him or her from harassing or sometimes even having contact with the other spouse or partner. Some of the standard prohibitions found in a non-molestation order read as follows:

The respondent, [YY], must not use or threaten violence against the applicant, [XX], and must not instruct, encourage or in any way suggest that any other person should do so.

The respondent, [YY], must not intimidate, harass or pester the applicant, [XX], and must not instruct, encourage or in any way suggest that any other person should do so.

The respondent, [YY], must not telephone, text, email or otherwise contact or attempt to contact the applicant, [XX], [except for the purpose of making arrangements for contact between the respondent and the children of the family] / [except through [his]/[her] solicitors [insert name, address and telephone number]].

The respondent, [YY], must not damage, attempt to damage or threaten to damage any property owned by or in the possession or control of the applicant, [XX], and must not instruct, encourage or in any way suggest that any other person should do so.

The respondent, [YY], must not damage, attempt to damage or threaten to damage the property or contents of [the family home]/[insert property], and must not instruct, encourage or in any way suggest that any other person should do so.

The respondent, [YY], must not go to, enter or attempt to enter [the family home] / [insert property] / [any property where he knows or believes the applicant, [XX], to be living], and must not go [within [insert] metres of it] / [along the road(s) known as [insert]], except that the respondent may [go to the property [without entering it]] / [go along the road(s) known as [insert]] for the purpose of collecting the children of the family for, and returning them from, such contact with the children as may be agreed in writing between the applicant and the respondent or in default of agreement ordered by the court.

In the US this type of injunction is often referred to generically as a “restraining order” or “order of protection.” In some states similar orders are known as “domestic violence protection orders” or “DVPOs,” “stay away orders” or “no contact orders.” But never are they referred to as “non-molestation orders,” as they are known in England and Wales.

Indeed, in American legal language “molestation” most often has quite a different meaning, being a criminal law term denoting a type of sex crime against children, i.e., “child molestation,” whose definition may vary in the criminal codes of each state, but that generally refers to a “wide variety of activities perpetrated against children by adults that have sexual undertones. While sexual activity clearly falls within the scope of child molestation, the crime also applies to other forms of inappropriate touching, including non-penetrating contact, exposure of a minor to pornography, or convincing a minor to view sexual acts.”** In this context, “to molest” is to commit some sort of sexual abuse, and the person committing such an offense is known as a “child molester.”

Thus translating “molest” and “molestation” requires taking into account which of these two meanings is intended. The “non-molestation” order of the Family Law Act 1996 is similar to the orden de alejamiento issued by Spanish courts and might provide a valid translation. In contrast “child molestation” may perhaps be rendered as abusos sexuales a menores or with a similar expression.

* https://www.judiciary.uk/wp-content/uploads/…orders…/non-molestation-order.doc

** https://www.justia.com/criminal/offenses/sex-crimes/child-molestation/

Mistranslations: usufructo is not (necessarily) a “life interest” in property

rebeccajowers Mistranslations?

Can this be a MISTRANSLATION_

In the past I have seen usufructo translated into English variously as “life interest,” “life interest trust” and “life estate.” All of these translations imply that usufructo is, by definition, always a grant of the use and enjoyment of property for the lifetime of the beneficiary.

This translation is misleading and may be patently incorrect in many contexts when, for example, usufructo is granted for a specific period of time (called usufructo a plazo, usufructo a término, usufructo temporal or usufructo constituido por tiempo determinado). An example of usufructo a plazo would be the usufruct of a dwelling granted to the guardian of a minor child until the child reaches the age of majority. In such cases usufructo may perhaps be rendered as “beneficial interest” or even “beneficial ownership,” given that “beneficial owner” is “one recognized as the owner of something because use and title belong to that person, even though legal title may belong to someone else” (Black’s Law Dictionary).

Usufructo is likewise often subject to a condition (usufructo condicional), being another mode of usufruct that cannot be translated as “life interest,” “life interest trust” or “life estate.” Indeed, usufructo may be subject to a condition precedent (condición suspensiva), such as usufructo granted to a son or daughter provided that he/she marries. Likewise usufructo condicional may be subject to a condition subsequent (condición resolutoria), such as usufructo granted to a son/daughter that will terminate if he/she doesn’t marry by the time he/she is thirty years old. These are admittedly silly examples but that, once again, demonstrate that usufructo cannot always be equated with a “lifetime interest” or “lifetime estate.”

In summary, perhaps it is best to translate usufructo (a secas) as “beneficial interest” and reserve “life interest,” “life interest trust” and “life estate” for situations that actually refer to usufructo vitalicio.

See more on usufructo here:

20 Answers: Terminology of Tort Law

rebeccajowers Legal English for Spanish-speakers

20 Questions...(2)

Here are the answers to the exercise on tort law terminology published in a previous blog entry:

1) A person who commits a tort: TORTFEASOR

2) An act of force or threat of force that puts a person in fear of imminent harm: ASSAULT

3) Defense against negligence that states that the plaintiff knew of the risk involved and still took the chance of being injured: ASSUMPTION OF RISK

4) An act that annoys or disturbs another person in his use, possession or enjoyment of his property: NUISANCE

5) Liability imposed upon a person due to the act or omission of another: VICARIOUS LIABILITY

6) Unauthorized entry or intrusion on the real property of another: TRESPASS

7) A false statement of fact designed to deceive: MISREPRESENTATION

8) A false and malicious publication (printing, writing, sign, picture) that harms another’s reputation: LIBEL

9) The intentional and offensive touching of another without consent and without lawful justification: ASSAULT

10) Wrongfully depriving a person of the use and possession of an item of personal property: CONVERSION

11) Deceit or deception intended to induce another to surrender something of value or a legal right: FRAUD

12) A false and malicious statement that harms another’s reputation: SLANDER

13) The liability of a manufacturer or seller for injury resulting from a defect in a product sold: PRODUCT LIABILITY

14) Mental anguish or physical pain for which damages may be recovered in tort litigation: PAIN AND SUFFERING

15) A private wrong committed by one person against another: TORT

16) Liability for an injury whether or not there is fault or negligence: STRICT LIABILITY (also called ABSOLUTE LIABILITY or LIABILITY WITHOUT FAULT)

17) A legal doctrine under which a master (employer) is responsible for torts committed by his servants (employees) during the scope of their employment: DOCTRINE OF RESPONDEAT SUPERIOR

18) Two or more people who participate together in the commission of a tort: JOINT TORTFEASORS

19) Wrongful; implying or involving tort: TORTIOUS

20) The intentional confinement of a person without legal justification: FALSE IMPRISONMENT or FALSE ARREST

 

20 Questions: Terminology of Tort Law

rebeccajowers Legal English for Spanish-speakers

20 Questions...(1)

This is an exercise that I use with my students of Legal English at the Universidad Carlos III in Madrid. After finishing each unit, we often review dictionary definitions of the legal terms and concepts that we’ve discussed in class to make sure they’re clear. Several students who follow this blog suggested that I might make exercises of this nature available here in the event that they may prove useful to other readers.

This one concerns “Tort Law,” akin to the legal discipline that in Spain is most-commonly known as Derecho de daños, i.e., el Derecho de la responsabilidad civil extracontractual). So, here goes…

Please provide a tort law term for the following definitions (Answers appear here):

1) A person who commits a tort:

2) An act of force or threat of force that puts a person in fear of imminent harm:

3) Defense against negligence that states that the plaintiff knew of the risk involved and still took the chance of being injured:

4) An act that annoys or disturbs another person in his use, possession or enjoyment of his property:

5) Liability imposed upon a person due to the act or omission of another:

6) Unauthorized entry or intrusion on the real property of another:

7) A false statement of fact designed to deceive:

8) A false and malicious publication (printing, writing, sign, picture) that damages another’s reputation:

9) The intentional and offensive touching of another without consent and without lawful justification:

10) Wrongfully depriving a person of the use and possession of an item of personal property:

11) Deceit or deception intended to induce another to surrender something of value or a legal right:

12) A false and malicious statement that harms another’s reputation:

13) The liability of a manufacturer or seller for injury resulting from a defect in a product sold:

14) Mental anguish or physical pain for which damages may be recovered in tort litigation:

15) A private wrong committed by one person against another:

16) Liability for an injury whether or not there is fault or negligence:

17) A legal doctrine under which a master (employer) is responsible for torts committed by his servants (employees) during the scope of their employment:

18) Two or more people who participate together in the commission of a tort:

19) Wrongful; implying or involving tort:

20) The intentional confinement of a person without legal justification: